50,000 creators call on the EU to fix the transfer of value

Just hours before the copyright directive vote on 12 september, the petition on www.makeinternetfair.eu hit 50,000 creators' signatures.

As a reminder, here is the call in its entirety:

Dear EU, please fix the transfer of value

We, creators from all artistic fields and from all over Europe, call on you, EU decision makers, to put a stop to the funneling of value away from the creators to a number of online platforms.

You have rightly acknowledged that user uploaded content (UUC) platforms are now the main point of access to our works online, but unacceptably do not, or only barely remunerate us for their exploitation. The viability of cultural and creative industries, which create significant growth and jobs for the EU economy, is threatened by this transfer of value.

We want an environment that fosters growth for new and legitimate businesses, including UUC platforms, while providing legal certainty for consumers, and ensuring that this is paired with appropriate remuneration for creators. UUC platforms have built their businesses on people’s desire to access and share our works, and should not put the burden of liability on consumers or creators.

The current situation is a race to the bottom that drives down the respect for and value of creative works. We depend on copyright/authors’ right as this is our pay and the only leverage we have to negotiate fair remuneration for our works.

The forthcoming legislation on copyright is your opportunity to stop these freeriding platforms.

We therefore call on you to:

clarify that UUC platforms like YouTube are involved in reproducing and making our works available under copyright laws;

ensure that the safe harbour non-liability regime does not apply to them as it is meant for technical intermediaries only.

The European Commission’s fair and balanced approach on this issue was a step in the right direction. We count on the European Parliament and the European Council to build on and further develop the solution proposed by the Commission to ensure a sustainable environment for all.